T-204A-15
Habitat Preferences of Gulf of St. Lawrence Atlantic Halibut Revealed from Pop-up Satellite Archival Tags
Murphy, Hannah. Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research, Fisheries and Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland, PO Box 4920, St. John’s, NL, Canada A1C 5R3; +1 709 778-0374; email : Hannah.Murphy@mi.mun.ca Fisher, Jonathan. Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research, Fisheries and Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland, PO Box 4920, St. John’s, NL, Canada A1C 5R3; +1 709 778-0652; email: Jonathan.Fisher@mi.mun.ca Castonguay, Martin. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 850 route de la mer, C.P. 1000, Mont-Joli, Québec, Canada G5H 3Z4; +1 418 775 0634; martin.castonguay@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Robert, Dominique. Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research, Fisheries and Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland, PO Box 4920, St. John’s, NL, Canada A1C 5R3; + 1 709 778 0499; Dominique.Robert@mi.mun.ca
Atlantic halibut is a species of high economic importance in Atlantic Canada. A distinct population in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Gulf) accounts for a third of total landings. The Gulf population is considered healthy with a high catch per unit effort, and harvesters from five jurisdictions are advocating for increases in the halibut quota. However, there is a lack of reliable abundance and biological data for this stock. The objective of this research is to provide baseline biological information (distribution, seasonal migration, and habitat uses) of the Gulf halibut stock using pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs). Twenty mature (> 110 cm) halibut were tagged with PSATs in October 2013 off the west coast of Newfoundland. PSAT pop-off times have been staggered with three to pop-off in January 2014, three in April 2014, and 14 in October 2014. Preliminary results from the first three PSATs suggest that from October to December Atlantic halibut in the Gulf have a temperature preference of 4-6 ºC and a depth range of 150-230 m. The first three pop-offs occurred close to where the fish were originally tagged. By providing baseline biological data, this study is an important first step in the development of reference points for this valuable resource.
Key words: satellite tagging; Atlantic halibut